【人力趨勢】面對Gig Economy與Work-life balance HR可怎樣做？

在過去的十年，工作生活平衡（Work-life balance）是就業市場上流行的詞語。我在渣打銀行集（SCB）和匯豐銀行（HSBC）工作時, 工作生活平衡是我們經常對內外、商業社區論壇，求職平臺CTgoodjobs及其他媒體訪問的熱門話題。

「工作生活平衡不僅有助於改善員工的健康狀況，還有助於他們參與工作、提高生產力和營運效率……」

根據上述話語，過去我的HR團隊曾經推出一系列的活動，例如「健康的身體與心靈（Healthy Body Healthy Minds）」、「健康週」、「彈性工作安排」、「部門按時/於6點離開辦公室」、「星期五鍛煉日（Friday Off for Exercise）」。HR研究把辦公室改建裝修，提供健身房/瑜伽設施，並為聆聽同事們意見，而在辦公室放置按摩椅。

這不禁令我們反思︰零工經濟（Gig Economy）中是否存在工作生活平衡？

「零工（Gigging）」允許個人自由靈活地控制工作的時間安排（「零碎工作」）。僱主也傾向於通過不僱用全職員工，或在特定時間段內需要技術人員來完成任務以降低成本。因此，必須建立更多平臺將工人與企業聯繫起來，以迎合這群人的需要。有些是高度專業的專業人員，包括臨時管理人員、會計師、律師和醫生等，以及創意人員等。

我從不相信工作生活平衡，也沒有做任何事情使他們平衡或不平衡。直到我發現自己的健康和家庭受到威脅，才開始尋找其真正意義。在工作中，當我被接連續會議和許多同事包圍時，需要開會討論各種關鍵問題並找到解決方案，我通常會失去「時間感」，例如感到上班的8小時很快流逝。

實現充實工作與生活
坦白地說，我們大多數人都在不斷尋找某種難以捉摸的平衡或均衡；而平衡不是自然狀態。變化是不可避免的，我們需要盡可能地進行調整並實現平衡。

當被問及生活與平衡時，大多數人都將工作視為生活的一部分。然而，在嘗試實現工作與生活平衡時，至關重要的是，我們應將工作視為生活的組成部分，而不是單獨類別。問題在於︰我們如何接納工作與生活的融合？我們可能在辦公室遇到問題，而影響了我們的專業工作，。我們應該認識到工作與生活的聯繫，並建立支援實現充實的工作/生活的文化。只有這樣，才能為每個獨立個體提供適合環境，讓員工們有創新精神並對其工作和社區充滿熱情。生活平衡是指有意義的生活和個人成就感。因此，我們必須管理自己的看法和期望。

「零工」工作者可確定更好生活選擇，以至達到工作與生活平衡。如果找到合適點，這筆個將會是很好的投資。這個趨勢可令「零工」工作者成為另類企業家，也取決於個人想要在工作和生活之間取得的平衡，以及期望獲得的回報。

Work/life balance in the Gig Economy

Work life balance was a buzz word in the last decades. It was also a popular topic of discussion in internal and external media of SCB and HSBC intranet, at Business Community forum and other media coverage like Careetimes and SCMP, etc …

A work-life balance not only helps improve staff’s health, but also their engagement at work, productivity and operational efficiency…

Following up on this statement, my HR team rolled out a series of programme like “healthy body healthy minds”, “Wellness Week”, “Flex-working arrangement”, “departing the office before 1800”, Friday off for exercise”; and the engagement coordinators will also look into office refurbishment to provide gym / yoga facilities as well as to provide a convenience such as putting a massage chair in the office to fulfil this mission. Does work-life balance exist in the gig economy ?

Gigging allows individuals with freedom and flexibility where they are in control of their time management on the piece of work (”piecemeal work”) . It is also the preference of the employers to reduce cost by not hiring a full-time employee or need a skilled person for a set and specific amount of time to complete a task. More platforms connecting contingent workers to businesses have to be set up to cater for this group of individuals. Some are highly specialized for professionals, including those for interim management, accountants, lawyers and doctors, restaurant workers, and creatives and etc.

I have never been a believer in work/life balance and don’t do much of anything in balance. Until I found that my health and family was at risk, which began my search for its real meaning. At work, I usually forgot “the sense of time” when I am surrounded by a tight schedule of meetings and a number of co-workers whom I need to have meetings to discuss various key issues and to find solutions to the problem statements. The 8 contracted working hours fly by easily.

Achieving work-life fulfilment!
To be frank, most of us continuously searching for some kind of balance / equilibrium which is elusive; balance is not a natural state. Change is inevitable and we need to adjust and to achieve balance as much as we can. Most people, when asked about life balance, talk about work as one part of their lives and everything else as another. However, when attempting to achieve a life in balance, it is crucial that we consider our work as an integral part of life, not a separate category. Question is how we embrace work-life integration ? We may be in a situation where we had an issue in the office which affected our profession and an negative impact at the personal level and ultimately the whole self. We should recognize the connection between work-life and to build a culture that supports work-life fulfillment. Only by doing so, this will offer an environment for individuals with the energy to innovate and be passionate about their work and community where they belong. Life balance is about the sense of living a meaningful life and personal fulfillment. Hence, it is for us to manage our own perception and expectation!

For gig workers, you have to determine BETTER ALTERNATIVES TO LIVE – work-life balance can be improved. The money can be great if you find the right spot. It is essentially being an entrepreneur and it is up to the individuals who would like to strike a balance of work and life and how much they would prefer earning. The choice is yours!

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